The present invention relates to anesthesia machines and pertains particularly to a double lumen tube adaptor and valve system for such machines.
One lung anesthesia has gained wide acceptance in recent years because it can be used to isolate a normal lung from a contaminated lung and also provide a motionless surgical field. Double lumen tube adaptors which have been designed originally for bronchospirometric studies have been found to be useful in anesthesia for thoracic surgery. Considerable improvements have been made in such tubes in recent years which afford independent control of each lung so that transbronchial spillover can be eliminated and ventilation difficulties in certain cases, such as valvular pneumothorax, bronchial fistula, and tension cysts can be avoided.
Double lumen connectors and adaptors have been developed which eliminates many of the problems with prior equipment which required disconnecting of and clamping off of rubber tubing and the resultant difficulties of attaching and detaching rubber tubing and the like. These prior art devices permit the application of three (3) major one lung ventilation/anesthesia functions; including ventilation, exposure of one lung to atmospheric pressure, and suctioning of one lung at a time. However, none of these prior art devices have the capability of providing the application of three (3) recent major advances in the management of one lung ventilation/anesthesia; one lung positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) with or without tidal ventilation, differential PEEP to both lungs, and one lung fiberoptic bronchoscopy.
While the prior art developments have provided many useful improvements, further developments and improvements permitting all six (6) of the above described functions in a single unit are desirable.